Biden Admin Hit With New Lawsuit From Top Business Groups
(LibertySociety.com) – In March, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced its decision to eliminate illegal discrimination in banks. The entity said it would look into the lending practices of financial institutions to ensure their programs, pricing, and advertising are fair across the board for all citizens.
To that end, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra vowed to expand the organization’s “anti-discriminatory efforts” to find and eliminate any unfair practices. On September 28, the US Chamber of Commerce and other banking companies sued the director and the CFPB for overreach.
Details About the Suit
The plaintiffs claim the bureau simply doesn’t have the authority for such oversight. They claim if the CFPB has that much power looking for what it feels is a discriminatory practice, banks will lose the ability to offer some products to customers. The suit points specifically to the agency’s Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices recently updated by the Biden administration. The groups who filed the complaint said requiring banks to offer all financial products to everyone equally is beyond the scope of the power bestowed upon them by Congress.
Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Neil Bradley said Chopra is trying to use the CFPB to “radically reshape” the US financial sector. Bradley said the director’s actions would harm “consumers, businesses, and our economy,” and he vowed to ensure Chopra is held accountable for pushing his agenda.
The chamber is concerned about the scrutiny because the action could make the banks apprehensive in offering services their customers have come to count on for fear of appearing discriminatory. These services might include such items as free checking, which typically attracts an older crowd with more established funds.
The plaintiffs think the agency should have outlined its rule and asked for feedback from the public before implementation.
The Bureau’s Response
A CFPB spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the organization simply wants to make sure banks and lenders are “following the law” and giving everyone seeking financial services the same deals and products. They also added that the bureau is very open with its regulation practices, giving institutions a preview about what they expect. CFPB believes even if lending entities don’t intend to be discriminatory, some consumers could still suffer harm.
The bureau says federal law prohibits discrimination when lending, but the products within banks are less clear on the matter. The CFPB wanted to firm up the guidelines to remove the ambiguity and add clarity to the situation.
Who do you think is right in this case?
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